1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a semiconductor apparatus, and, more particularly, to a technology for repairing semiconductor chip by way of semiconductor chip through-lines
2. Related Art
Various packaging methods have been proposed to enhance the degree of integration of a semiconductor apparatus. Particularly, in a chip stacking method in which a plurality of semiconductor chips are stacked to construct a single semiconductor apparatus, semiconductor chip through-lines are used to transmit signals commonly to the plurality of semiconductor chips. Such semiconductor chip through-lines are often referred to as “through-silicon vias (TSVs)” because semiconductor chips are generally manufactured using silicon wafers.
In general, the stacked semiconductor chips can be categorized into a master chip and one or more slave chips. The master chip is configured to exchange signals with external devices and to control the slave chips. Each slave chip is configured to perform specific operations under the control of the master chip. For example, in the case of a semiconductor memory apparatus, the master chip has peripheral circuits associated with the input and output of signals and control signals, and the slave chips have memory banks for storing data. The circuit configurations of the master chip and the slave chips may be changed as needed.
Meanwhile, in a testing process of a semiconductor apparatus, a repair operation is performed to detect an occurrence of a defect in semiconductor chip through-lines and to replace a corresponding semiconductor chip through-line with a redundancy semiconductor chip through-line. Typically, whether a defect has been occurred is screened for the entire semiconductor chip through-lines using test equipment, and a semiconductor chip through-line which is determined to have failed is replaced with a redundancy semiconductor chip through-line. Such a repair operation is performed using a repair fuse. However, such a conventional repair scheme is problematic in that repair fuses occupy a substantial area and a defect in a semiconductor chip through-line that may potentially occur cannot be repaired.